Government Policies Affect American Indians

Ever since the first contact with European settlers, American Indians have been given the short end of the stick. American Indians have been through a variety of government policies such as allotment and removal. These policies continue to affect American Indians today as many tribes have been reduced to a single reservation that has not even been on their original land that they belonged to before contact. This significant loss in the American Indian community has caused many American Indians to live in poverty, but Indian gaming is a source of income that can help that fact of impoverishment. Because Indian gaming provides a source of income for community funding, the federal and state government should have the same amount of control over

In 1988, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress with the goal of “[promoting] an opportunity to generate needed revenue” for American Indian reservations (364). In addition to classifying gaming into three specific types, the IGRA “also established the National Indian Gaming Commission”, which, simply put, makes sure that not only are the casinos treating the customers fairly, but also that the customers are gaming fairly (364). The National Indian Gaming Commission also ensures that the nobody except the Indian tribes are the main recipients of the revenue that comes from the gaming at the casino (364). While the National Indian Gaming Commission oversees casinos run by tribes in general, state governments only “hold some regulatory authority; specifically over matters that relate to state-tribal compacts” (368). Evidently, these regulations are not made in order limit the American Indians from how much they make from the casino or severely limit their use of gaming as a source of income, but instead it promotes economic development in American Indian tribes living on

When the IGRA was passed, it was noted that the act “diminished some aspects of sovereignty to meet the financial and regulatory concerns of states” (364). This included giving a fraction of the revenue to the state government and to comply with the state regulations regarding gambling, such as if the state allows it or not. Sovereignty refers to a self-governing state. With the federal and state government determining exactly how American Indians can approach gambling instead of determining it themselves, American Indian tribes can not truly identify with the concept of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. An American Indian tribe can not truly be considered a sovereign state or a state that practices self-determination because they have a higher power determining how they regulate casinos, defying the original definitions of sovereignty and self-determination. While the regulations on Indian gaming that are established by the federal and state government can be useful, these regulations take away the affected tribes right to control their own economy